News of the Western Belize Recreational Area, about 500 square miles of waterfalls, caves, Mayan ruins and pyramids, Belize Alps, foothills, ranches and farms, tourist accomodations of all types and description, tours and expeditions for vacationers and visitors. Even a small growing expatriate retirement group of people from different countries. In Belize, this is where it is happening, all the things that are fun and even serious, with a climate of ETERNAL SPRING.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Telecommunications service in Belize is spotty and over priced.

"Part of this thread has been about "Belizean pricing" -- that is, the philosophy of pricing high in order to try to make money even with only a few customers, which is typical in my opinion of many Belizean businesses.

Internet services is a prime example.

I think BTL's current price for 2 Mbps (down) DSL service is US$250 a month.

In the U.S., I pay US$35 for 6 Mbps down DSL, and that's probably at the high end of what most people pay. I know people who have 10 Mbps down and pay less than I do.

In the U.S., Europe and most other parts of the world, internet access speed has increased dramatically and prices have dropped significantly.

Not in Belize.

BTL's pricing for DSL hasn't come down at all. They don't strive to compete on a better product at a lower price but rather attempt to provide a decent service at the highest possible price, spending their money on buying off real change in the marketplace and working to slow technologies such as VoIP. Their competitors, which are somewhat hamstrung in terms of their service areas or in other ways, really don't offer much in the way of a true alternative.

Sadly, while BTL may remain highly profitable, the BTL approach is terrible for Belize and its competitiveness in the world market."

---- SADLY THE CURRENT UDP GOVERNMENT HAS NEITHER IDEAS, ANSWERS, OR ENERGY TO DEAL WITH THIS DEVELOPMENT PROBLEM ----